Satellite backhaul for macro-cells, as an alternative to optical fibre, to close the digital divide

The lack of broadband access causes a serious risk of social exclusion, by preventing citizens from full social and economic participation in the society. To avoid this risk, the concept of subsidized rural networks was developed by the European Commission, in which an operator builds, maintains and operates a network (usually an open network) capable of providing at least a 100 Mbps connection to the subscribers; deployed in low density regions being publicly subsidized when unprofitable. In this article, we suggest a methodology to measure a realistic value for the average broadband used per subscriber at busy hour. We also present a simulation model for the backhaul infrastructure costs for very fast networks in rural areas to cover the last, and more expensive, 5% of the population, while comparing optical fibre with satellite for the middle mile from an economical and financial perspective.